immigration enforcement

Farmworker organizer Alfredo Juarez Zeferino translates during an interview in Mount Vernon last year. He was detained by ICE in March. He found no way to be released from the detention center in Tacoma after hearings with immigration judges, and returned to Mexico through voluntary departure.

The impossible choice: How immigration enforcement is affecting Pacific Northwest farmworker families

Gloria Ibáñez

Immigration policy changes are affecting farmworker families in the Northwest. Many are making plans in case they’re separated and are talking about how to stay together.

Mike Gonzalez, Sunnyside’s city manager, and Robert Layman, Sunnyside's police chief, during the press conference on January 27, 2025.

Local News

Local authorities in Sunnyside confirm ICE operations in city

City officials in Sunnyside, Washington, confirmed that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are conducting operations in the city.

Inside the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, also known as the Northwest Detention Center. Photo courtesy of La Resistencia, May 2022.

Local News

Private detention center operator files suit against Washington state

The GEO Group, the operator of a private detention center in Tacoma, has filed a lawsuit against Washington opposing new legislation that would regulate private detention facilities in the state. With the signing of House Bill 1470 into law in May, the Washington State Department of Health was given the authority to do unannounced inspections of private detention facilities and establish standards regarding health and safety for these facilities.